Welcome to edition #3 of e-News our biggest and best offering yet. After the success of our national workshops there are a few opportunities left this term to attend. (Watch this space for terms three and four dates).

We wrap up our three part series on Parkour with a look at its non-competitive nature and its rise in the public sphere. We feature a new segment this month with the 'Ultimate physical activity challenge', and an absolute treat with Bluearth Champion and Rowing Legend Drew Ginn offering to answer some reader questions.

There are the regular features of 'quote' and 'activity of the month', and we feature Bluearths' IT manager and guru Colin Slater in the personal profile and Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos as this month's Bluearth Champion.

And remember, as always we welcome your feedback, let us know how we are going: enews@bluearth.org.

SOCIALISING – YEAH, WE'RE GOOD AT THAT!

We get lots of requests at Bluearth to assist with special activites. One of the more popular ones is socialisation or peer activity sessions. These range from a couple of hours to all day and can be done with all audiences including primary and secondary.

Ask Bluearth to tailor your schools next get together: enews@bluearth.org

After the success of current workshops there are still a couple remaining. Watch over coming editions for more dates to be released for the second half of the year.

Click on the 'register' button to download registration form, or speak to your coach to lock in your spot.

AREA	DATE & TIME	LOCATION ADDRESS
WANGARATTA	Wed 21st August 2008 9.30am - 3.00pm	Galen College Sports Stadium Phillipson Street, Wangaratta 3677
BENDIGO	Tue 26th August 2008 9.30 am - 3.00 pm	St. Francis of the Fields Primary School 46 Bulgher Street, Strathfieldsaye 3551
	To register for any of these workshops, please download and complete the enrolment form (pdf 80KB).

CLIMB THE 100 FAMOUS MOUNTAINS

Country: Japan
Type of activity: Hiking/Climbing
Best time: Summer

Summary: In 1964 Fakada Kyuya released 'Hyakumeizan', in which he chose 100 famous mountains of Japan, selecting them for a variety of reasons – height, history, shape and character. His wish was that keen Japanese climbers would choose their own 100 to climb over their lifetimes. However, it didn't quite work out that way and his 100 are now the accepted target. There is a guide book that displays how to tackle this in 66 days while many others may take a lifetime.

Day and night, issues big and small, he comes to our aid with all things IT related. Support in the truest sense of the word.

Meet our IT guru...Colin Slater

Throwing the arms and following the movement of the hands with your eyes.

Standing with feet comfortably apart or wider let the arms become ribbons and the hands heavy. Begin rotating your body with your feet connected to the ground. With the pelvis, spine and head rotating freely, the arms will come to life and allow the movement to flow. Notice how you use the ground to initiate force. A nice idea is to try with eyes closed.

"Whoever...sees in illness a vital expression of the organism, will no longer see it as an enemy. In the moment I realize that the disease is a creation of the patient, it becomes for me the same sort of thing as his manner of walking, his mode of speech, his facial expression, the movements of his hands, the drawings he has made, the house he has built, the business he has settled, or the way his thoughts go: a significant symbol of the powers that rule him, and that I try to influence when I deem it right."

Georg Groddeck, MD

FREE RUNNING VERSUS PARKOUR

Although they exhibit many similarities free running and parkour differ according to those who coined the phrases. At the simplest level Parkour comprises efficiency while free running embodies complete freedom of movement and often includes many acrobatic manoeuvres. In terms of philosophy, Foucan defines free running as a discipline to self-development and following your own way while traceurs practice parkour in order to improve their ability to overcome obstacles faster and in the most efficient manner. The distinction can be seen in the following two quotes:

'The most important element is the harmony between you and the obstacle; the movement has to be elegant...If you manage to pass over the fence elegantly – that's beautiful, rather that saying I jumped the lot. What's the point in that?'
Free runner Jerome Ben Aoues

'Understand that this art has been created by a few soldiers in Vietnam to escape or reach: and this is the spirit I'd like to keep. You have to make the difference between what is useful and what is not in emergency situations. Then you'll know what is parkour and what is not. So if you do acrobatics things on the street with no other goal than showing off, please don't say it's parkour. Acrobatics existed long time ago before parkour.'
David Belle.

PARKOUR IN THE MAINSTREAM

Like surfing, skating and similar activities it has taken a groundswell and time for Parkour to start to gain some attention in popular culture. In recent years it has popped up in one of Madonna's video clips, it is starting to appear in movies (most notably James Bond – Casino Royale and later in The Bourne Ultimatum) and has also appeared in some television shows like Top Gear and in a feature with Sebastian Foucan on 60 Minutes. One of the highlights for us in here was 'Chipper' (who trained many of us) appearing in a fast food commercial that has received plenty of air time.

NON-COMPETITIVE PARKOUR

In keeping with the philosophies and ideals that were developed along with parkour is a growing movement to keep the activity free from competition. The feeling is that motive and intentions would become blurred should this ever occur and those involved in forums, blogs, members and traceurs are asked to show their support by signing up to this.

Below is a sample of the non-competitive philosophy that Parkour promotes which, many of you would agree I'm sure, is in keeping with the Bluearth philosophy.

We believe the drive to train should always and only come from within. We strive to be stronger for ourselves and others, not against people, but with and for others. Therefore, we reject and disregard any form of rivalry between practitioners. Instead, we value mutual respect and solidarity in making progress as individuals and as a community.
Taken from the Australian Parkour Association website

HOW TO PARKOUR NEAR YOU

The internet is a great place to start. There are many videos on 'You Tube' that display parkour and can provide inspiration to explore it further.

The website for the Australian Parkour Association is probably the best place for information on classes, definitions, and links into the world of parkour. Go to: www.parkour.asn.au

Well Traceurs, we hope you've enjoyed the 3 part series on parkour and welcome any feedback or questions you may have on it.

'Every individual player seems to have a bond with Roosy'

That is how player Michael O'Loughlin sums up the type of coach Paul Roos is at the Sydney Swans.

After a much decorated career at Fitzroy and Sydney, where he amassed 356 games and was seven times all-Australian, Paul Roos has taken to coaching seamlessley. In what many described as a group of 'ordinary' players, Roos nurtured the Sydney Swans to the height of success in the AFL, a premiership in 2005, while being recognised along the way as the AFL Coaches Association 'Coach of the Year' in 2003.

The impact that Roos has on those around him was probably best summed up by Peter Schwab (Hawthorn premiership player and coach):

"The greatest strength in Roos coaching, appears to be his ability to make a group of players believe that everything is about and for the team".

Paul Roos definitely is a Bluearth champion.

Legendary Rower, Bluearth Champion and all around nice guy Drew Ginn has generously offered to take some time out from his preparation for the Beijing Olympics to partake in some Q and A with our readers.

Next month we will feature Drew as our Bluearth Champion and along with his profile we are giving 5 readers the opportunity to drill Drew with a question of their choice.

We'll select 5 questions from our readers and publish their questions along with Drew's response in the July issue of e-News.

With Drew lining up for his 3rd Olympics the timing is perfect to set the scene for Beijing come August.

Get those questions in to: enews@bluearth.org

If you like what you've read and have friends or colleagues you think would like to receive a copy of e-News, you can now use our new 'Forward to a Friend' facility to add them to our monthly distribution list. And of course we'll send them a copy of this issue too!

Forward to a Friend

FEEDBACK

Here at Bluearth we often receive stories from schools around how our program is progressing and significant experiences that students or staff may have had. We invite you to send these stories through and we'll publish them here. Pictures are welcome as well.

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enews@bluearth.org

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Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia